Toyota Tacoma Double Cab

Besides being a damn fine excuse to have a Porsche in our fleet at all times, our long-term tests are also quite revealing because we learn things over the course of driving a vehicle for 40,000 miles that aren't always obvious in the short term.

We had several such epiphanies over the 15 months and 40,000 miles we spent with this mid-size Toyota Tacoma. The first came about five months and 15,000 miles into the test, when then road warrior Jared Gall and the Tacoma were dispatched to New York to retrieve a 3744-pound Mercedes 300SD that we had purchased and entered in our diesel-beater cross-country race to Los Angeles ["Battle of the Diesel Beaters," C/D, April 2006]. The base Tacoma's towing capacity is a punk 3500 pounds, but ours came with the optional SR5 No. 8 trailer-tow package that included a hitch, along with transmission- and engine-oil coolers. So equipped, the Tacoma's pulling capacity increases to 6500 pounds, well over the combined weight of the beater and its trailer.

Nonetheless, it wouldn't have surprised us if the Tacoma had behaved like a Shetland pony with John Goodman in the saddle. See, at that point, we hadn't really embraced the reality that the Tacoma is no longer a compact pickup truck but a mid-sizer and were still equating it with the wimpy pickups that Toyota had produced for decades.

We had the longest model in the lineup, the Double Cab with the long bed. It had four forward-hinged doors, almost as much interior room as a Camry, and that exceptionally long, 73.5-inch bed. Although the Tacoma is not as wide or tall as a full-size pickup (and thus is categorized as mid-size), our stretched version's 221.3-inch length was in full-size territoy. Thanks to that $2965 SR5 package that also included cruise control, a leather steering wheel, and a limited-slip rear differential, our four-wheel-drive Tacoma rang in at $29,389 and was not hurting for features. Plus, the 4.0-liter V-6 engine provided a fairly robust 236 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque.

On his return trip, Gall reported that the Tacoma "pulled the Benz home with ease," a sentiment echoed by Tony Swan after he used it to tow his race car. Although a full-size truck would typically be able to haul much heavier loads, we didn't really need that capability, and we imagine 90 percent of full-size-pickup owners don't, either. So we started to wonder if Toyota had found a pickup-size sweet spot.

Further evidence was provided at the fuel stops. At the 15,000-mile mark, the Tacoma had averaged 18 mpg, 26 percent better than we averaged over 40,000 miles with a full-size Nissan Titan. What's more, the Tacoma was quicker than the V-8 Titan. When new, the Tacoma ran to 60 mph in only 6.9 seconds, 0.4 second sooner than the Titan.

For a short time, we had as blissful a relationship as we're capable of having with a pickup truck. But then some bothersome aspects that were just annoying at the outset became downright aggravating as the miles rolled by.

The first was the spongy brake-pedal feel that plagued the Tacoma throughout the test. As is our procedure, we ran the Tacoma through our standard battery of performance tests when it was new and after 40,000 miles. While performing the 70-mph-to-standstill test soon after the Tacoma arrived here, we could not get the brakes to release after we took our foot off the pedal until we had pumped the pedal several times. So we flat-bedded the pickup over to a dealer. An adjustment was made to the pushrod that links the brake pedal with the master cylinder. The Tacoma has a three-year/36,000-mile warranty, so there was no charge.